Tanya C. Ellis, Gleaner Writer

Taken at the Rita Marley Foundation office on location at the Bob Marley Museum. - Contributed

Even as she is preparing to retire, Minion Phillips, or Sister Minnie, as her close friends often call her, is unyielding in her efforts to deliver the African message of freedom and unity.

The long-time friend and personal chef of Rita Marley was a key part of the movement that lobbied local government to make Emancipation Day a public holiday back in the '70s.

She told The Gleaner recently that she is still determined in her mission to find out the main reasons why her people self-destruct.

Searching

"I am still trying to find out who I am, and to understand fully the association with my African roots," said Minnie who is currently writing a vegetarian recipe book called Stir it Up.

"I have fed a multitude of Rastafarians, Bob Marley included, and this book will be the legacy I will leave as a memoir of my unique cooking style.

"It was always a pleasure for me to feed my brethren and my food has pleasingly been embraced both here in Jamaica and in Ghana, where I still have a restaurant."

For this, she has claimed the International Restaurant of the Year award in both New York and Spain. Minnie says she has not lost the passion to cook, but has become tired.

Retirement

"At age 59, I want to relax a little bit more, while allowing myself more time to connect spiritually with the motherland. I have worked tirelessly with my very good friend Rita to keep the legacy of the mission strong, but it is she who is the backbone of that legacy. without her it could not be possible to experience for myself the wealth of goods that Africa has to offer."

Sister Minnie, who has been crowned Nana Esi Boah the First, Queen Mother in Ghana, was pleased to accept the recognition of respect for personally escorting the bones of one of their own, who arrived in Jamaica as a slave, back to Ghana in 1998.

"I was only able to accomplish this much because of the conscious influence of Bob Marley's music. I cannot think of a better way to retire my career than to honour this celebration," Sister Minnie confided to The Gleaner.